About The Smith Family Comic Strip
George J. Smith was born on February 5, 1920, in the back of
an ambulance on the way to Cumberland Street Hospital in Brooklyn, New York — a
fittingly dramatic entrance for a man who would spend his life making people
laugh.
George and his wife Virginia Smith were a husband-and-wife
cartooning team whose work appeared in syndicated newspapers across the United
States from the 1950s through the 1980s. Their strip, The Smith Family, offered
an unflinching and often hilarious look at American family life — touching on
everything from the generation gap to political absurdity to the everyday
negotiations of marriage and parenthood.
In 1950, George ranked 14th in national cartoon sales —
competing against legendary names like Mort Walker, Hank Ketcham, and the
Berenstains. Their work appeared in The Boston Globe, The Columbian, The
Philadelphia Inquirer, The Austin American-Statesman, The Prattville Progress,
and dozens of other newspapers nationwide.
What made the Smiths' work distinctive was its willingness to
go places polite conversation avoided. The strip tackled gun control, military
spending, environmental poisoning, women's equality, and cultural hypocrisy
decades before these topics became mainstream. And it did so with a warmth and
humanity that never felt preachy.
George also had a prolific career as a magazine gag
cartoonist, selling hundreds of cartoons to publications including The Saturday
Evening Post, American Legion Magazine, PIC Magazine, and others — at a time
when breaking into those markets was brutally competitive.
This blog is an archive of their legacy — their newspaper
strips, magazine cartoons, original artwork, and the stories behind the work.
It exists to ensure that George and Virginia Smith's creative vision continues
to speak, teach, inspire, and connect across generations.
Browse the Archive
•
By decade: Use the Labels in the sidebar to browse
strips by era
•
By theme: Labels include Political Commentary, Social
Satire, Family Life, Women & Gender, and more
•
By year: Use the Blog Archive widget to find posts by
date
Questions or contributions? Connect via the Facebook page
linked in the sidebar.
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